After nearly a decade of legal battles and media silence, embattled Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya has finally broken his silence, declaring in a rare public statement: “I’m a businessman, not a criminal.”
Speaking from London, where he has been residing since fleeing India in 2016 amid allegations of financial fraud and loan defaults amounting to over ₹9,000 crore, Mallya stated, “I built successful businesses and employed thousands. I never intended to defraud anyone.”
The former liquor baron and founder of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines is currently fighting extradition to India. The UK courts had earlier cleared his extradition, but delays in final orders from the UK Home Office have allowed him to remain in Britain.
“I have maintained from day one that I’m ready to repay every single rupee I owe to the banks,” he reiterated. “But painting me as a fugitive or a wilful defaulter doesn’t change the truth — I am, and always was, a businessman.”
This is the first substantial public remark by Mallya in nine years, and it has already stirred reactions across political and financial circles in India.
Legal experts suggest Mallya’s statement may be part of a broader strategy to seek a settlement or rehabilitation of his image as India intensifies efforts to bring back economic offenders from abroad.
Meanwhile, Indian banks and law enforcement agencies remain firm. “Sentiment is not a substitute for settlement,” an official with the Enforcement Directorate commented.
Whether this statement marks a turning point in Mallya’s long-running legal saga remains to be seen. But one thing is clear — Vijay Mallya is back in the headlines, and this time, on his own terms.
